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This is a new take on DRM and piracy. On the plus its temporary, BUT if it fails to prevent being cracked before the release it could just annoy legit buyers for a week. I for one think its an interesting and positive strategy. They could gain with day 1 sales, and legit buyers get a DRM free product in 1 week. Personally I would put up with it, some may disagree. If you are super anti-drm simply wait 1 week before playing. Seems like a new, positive step in the right direction, and I'm at least happy to see a company try something new.

Yeah sorry I wasnt logged in (no clue why not) But my company uses BBM because it works over wireless networks. When you are inside a massive warehouse, inside the different areas (frozen/dairy/meat sections), you dont always get wireless coverage. This is why we are set up with BBM, because BBM works through wireless without needing to be connected to a service provider. If TXT's worked without a service provider then it could be a different story. For now we dont really have a choice.

My thoughts exactly. Every time I hit next for the next slide I was expecting to see Kingpin. For those of you that don't remember the game here is a quick video from Youtube Kingpin walk through At the time being able to shoot off body parts was fairly new to first person shooters and the language, well if you watch that video you'll see this was a game you didn't play around your parents.

After Thinking a little more on the topic I felt the slide show really missed some big steps in violence. Wolfenstein, Doom, Rise of the Triads, and how could they even think of leaving Soldier of Fortune off the list?!?! I understand every list is subject to opinion but there are just too many games that were left off the list that pushed the boundaries for their release times. I just thought of these games in a minute off the top of my head, so it really doesn't seem like a lot of thought went into this list.

I first read this article on The Canadian Press and they quoted Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe and she said there were signs of trauma.

Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said the birds showed physical trauma, and she speculated that "the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail."

As this story is just unfolding there are several inconsistencies between articles. Some say its only blackbirds, while the article quoted in the summary says there were multiple species of birds involved, but the majority were blackbirds.
I think once the birds are sent off for further testing (as the article states Monday) we'll get a more accurate picture of exactly what shape the birds were in, and maybe a single theory of what happened. If it turns out this article is correct and there was no trauma I think your theory could be accurate.

Haha yeah I had a first gen PSP and all the later revisions really pissed me off. In the end my netbook replaced it as my cheap travel companion because it wasn't a hassle. It didn't require converting movie formats, it didnt require almost weekly updates (which if you used custom firmware became a chore) and could play better games.

Is it though? both new additions are both coping motion yes, but they both went about it in different ways. Playstation used a similar device to the wii, but added a light and camera to improve accuracy. So it technically should be an improvement over the Wiimote. MS went a different way and purchased a company that dealt with cheap motion detection systems. This made their system controller-less and different. Yes both Sony and MS jumped on movement based gaming, but both used different approaches which could turn out to be better. Both companies are bending to demand so obviously the Wii isn't meeting the expectations of some gamers. Gamers are asking for a new solution, why is that bad? Its like saying Porche copied GM.

Its well known that MS actually bought the tech from an over seas company. Either way though its an impressive piece of machinery for a company first try. I picked one up after reading mixed reviews, and being a guy that must have the latest gadgets I decided not to fight my inner geek. I actually love this thing. My only complaint is the most common. LAG! But what I found was despite the fact you have to adjust to the lag, you do. 10mins after turning it on, I was use to doing everything 1/3 of a second early. I wonder if its a USB limitation, or the lack of an onboard processor. The voice commands actually work well, as Im a person that cant enunciate my R's very well, this was a bit of a surprise. Some complaints about unresponsiveness have gone unnoticed by me. When I do something, even in fast succesion it happens on screen (nothing like making your avatar jerk off). I think Kinect was a good step to controller-less gaming, and albeit not perfect, is definitely fun. I have a Wii that I have only used a few times, a PS3 I love for offline gaming (but no Move) and a 360 now with Kinect. I'll still have to get the Move before I make a verdict. But i enjoy bowling/boxing more on the 360 than on the Wii. Not to mention ping pong is a blast!

I went 3 days after launch expecting to find a ton of Kinects in store after the mixed reviews, but when I went to futureshop there was only a single unit left. I was shooting the shit with the guy in the game/movie section, and he said demand was far higher than they predicted. Interesting considering the device is far from perfect. In the end though, I have had a ton of fun so far. I just dont know when the novelty will wear off (like it did with the Wii) but this is just my 2 cents on the Kinect after a few days use. I really like it, but time and games will tell if it can be a Wii killer, just like the PS Move also hopes to be. At least sales wise I dont think initially this can be classified a failure, and use wise I also wouldn't call it a failure, just not a complete success. Solve the lag issues, get some longer lasting games, give a better menu system than holding your hand over a button (have you ever tried pausing with Kinect while playing?!?! you have to stand still for like 2 seconds) and extend the Kinect use to incorperate voice commands at all times, and it could be.

Im on Citalopram for anxiety (had bad anxiety since I was a kid, but recently my doctor noticed my blood pressure is too erratic because of it). When I first started it I ended up losing 20 pounds due to the nausea. But once the side effects from starting the meds were gone, my weight returned to normal. I eat the same amount since the side effects stopped and personally dont think Citalopram would be responsible. But everyone is different, and I think its more personality that affects how you change with the drug. I drink more than I did before because I was so anxious about drinking. Same could go with people for eating. I dont think its the drug that does it, its how people who have dealt with anxiety/depression deal without it.

He blames a "balky download system" but when you buy something on xbox live. It doesn't not matter if the download completes. The item is tied to your account when you buy it, and you can download it and redownload it whenever you want. As the article points out this lawyer also seems a little shady (suing a Casino because a drunk attacked him).

One thing the article did mention that I liked was that MS is considering doing away with points. I know I always have an odd number of points on my account because of so many different denominations of DLC prices. Thats one thing I like about my PS3, it charges my credit card directly OR I can chose to add a certain amount of money to my account. Not trying to incite a flamewar between PS3/360, I have both and love them both for different reasons.

For such a positive article, there are nothing but negative comments... Its good to see that technology made for gaming can in turn be used to help the disabled. For all the bad press games/gamers get, there is now something really promising that we can say came from gaming. Natal, if it turns out as well as they claim it will, is a impressive piece of technology. To reach a broad audience it will have to be affordable. Makes you wonder what the comments would be like had Sony, Apple, IBM or any other company for that matter had created it.

Glyn Moody writes "France's 'Loi Hadopi' — better known as 'three strikes and you're out' — was passed by the National Assembly late last night when only 16 deputies were present (the vote was 12 in favor, 4 against). Most politicians had left because it was expected that the vote would take place next week. In this way, President Sarkozy has sneaked his controversial legislation through the French parliament — and shown his contempt for the democratic process. So now what?"

Thats just a cover, keep scrolling up and you'll notice a whole field of crop circles!!!! Thats what was really supposed to be blurred out. If you think about it, a nuclear submarine dock is the perfect cover for an alien landing zone... Im getting images of the Men in Black all over again.

You mean 200 dollars for the stripped down model. Right now you can get the 60gig model for 270, and the 120gig model for 360 at futureshop. But yes, the initial release was more expensive, just not as expensive as the PS3's. I think Sony needs to reconsider its pricing though, especially in todays economy. Last month according to NPD numbers the 360 outsold the PS2 and PS3 combined. Pricing may not affect sales to adults/university students, but it sure as hell affects parents who are struggling in todays economy but still want to give their child a next gen console. When you go into a store and see a 200 dollar 360, a 280 dollar Wii and a 400 dollar PS3, the 360 is going to look mighty attractive. I personally own a 360 and have been waiting (in vain) for a significant PS3 price drop. But the only games I want for PS3 are Little Big Planet and Killzone, so 400dollars for 2 games isn't worth it.

SpuriousLogic writes "There's been another delay in the schedule announced for getting the Large Hadron Collider switched back on — now it's September 2009, a year after it shut down due to a malfunction. Scientists had said they expected the $5.4B machine to be repaired by November 2008, but then pushed the date back to June 2009, before the latest delay."